


I Sell My Soul Each Day

by ltcoljsheppard (Wolverine6Claws)



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Comfort/Angst, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27533848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolverine6Claws/pseuds/ltcoljsheppard
Summary: Teyla worries for John. She finds him on the pier and comforts him.Answer to a five minute challenge, so it's short.
Relationships: Teyla Emmagan/John Sheppard
Kudos: 6





	I Sell My Soul Each Day

<><><><>

"I sell my soul a little more each day," he confided quietly, with a sense of great sorrow.

Teyla stood behind him and watched him with a concerned expression etched into her beautiful features. She'd searched the more popular places in the city for him for nearly two hours, before realizing where he'd gone. Where he always goes to get away from all the reminders of the awesome weight of his responsibilities.

She watched the ocean breeze rustle his already tousled hair as he stood at the railing that stood as a guardian at the farthest most reaches of the southwest pier. The sun was setting on the horizon and the two moons were now peeking from the growing darkness above them, their glowing images reflected in the rippling water below.

Teyla worried about him more and more as each new day ended with another Marine lost in the line of duty, or when his actions to keep them all safe meant he had to cross a line he'd never thought to cross back on Earth. With each cold-blooded murder he committed, even of the Wraith, he lost a little more of himself. This galaxy was pulling him apart piece by piece from within. It was consuming his soul and changing him into a man he didn't recognize in the mirror anymore.

That single sentence... one small observation; a seemingly simple introspection... shouted so much to her. A whisper on the wind and it could've been a shout from a mountain top for all the pain and misery Teyla could hear in those words.

Stepping forward, she raised her hand and laid it gently on his back in a show of care and support. John turned his face away from the incoming breeze to look around his arm at her. His eyes full of pain so deep Teyla thought he'd rend her heart to pieces.

Reaching across his chest she took his other arm in her hand and turned him toward her. He complied without hesitation, simply allowing her to make the decisions. He didn't want to make anymore. Not right now.

She turned him toward her and then stepped up close to her. The last time she'd needed a hug he was hesitant but he did eventually lay his large warm palm upon her back. She remembered clearly the feel of his warm skin against hers. Teyla stepped up close and pulled him toward her, her hands upon his shoulders. As he leaned down, guided by her touch, Teyla wrapped her arms about his neck and held him there.

Sheppard surprised her a great deal when he immediately wrapped his own strong arms around her torso and pulled her to him tightly. The strength of his embrace reminded her of the desperation felt in the grip of a drowning man and she tightened her own hold on him. He was always working so hard, pushing himself to the limits of human endurance and even human ability, to keep them all safe and to always bring each one home in one piece.

And in constantly doing so... he was losing a piece of himself each time.

Teyla held on tight... she set her jaw and vowed to be strong for him for as long as he needed and he clung to her. His fingers gathered the material of her jacket as if afraid that if he loosened his grip she'd fly away in the wind.

They stood this way for a long time and she simply let him feel safe in her arms. Her heart skipped a beat and the air froze in her lungs as Teyla realized the fluttering sensation on the rim of her ear was the soft, gentle movement of John's lips.

Unable to help herself, Teyla tilted her head slightly away from him, allowing him access to her ear and neck as he saw fit to take. When he buried his face against her neck, his soft lips mouthing the warmth of her skin, Teyla's heart bounded as she breathed heavily in his embrace.

~ End ~


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